


Sugar Rush

by plutodraws



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Ice Cream Parlor AU, M/M, Teenage Awkwardness, eventual smut so probably later explicit tag, mini golf AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-12 21:47:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4495875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plutodraws/pseuds/plutodraws
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"'Y’know everyone in the world thinks they’re unique and individual but is it any surprise that they all come in at the same times wanting the same thing?' Mr. Sawamura questioned casually as he picked up and crushed two empty tubs for recycling."</p><p>Ice cream shop / mini golf AU. Some employees are frustrated, some are excited, some are friends, some are anything but. Everyone's usually messing up though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Karasuno Mini Golf and Ice Cream Parlor

Hinata’s eyes were wide like saucers. He had just arrived for his introductory shift at Karasuno Ice Cream and Mini Golf.

Droves of customers milled around the red and white-checkered tile floor and two frantic but focused employees hurried their tasks to beat the sunset rush ASAP: one boy, whose ashy black hair covered his ears and stuck upwards in a single middle tuft, rushed a medium soft serve swirl into a dipped waffle cone and briskly hustled it over to a scale next to the register that held a clear plastic weighing table. His hands were quick and his feet were nimble but his face seemed relaxed and impressively content, especially when conversing with customers about their order.

Another boy was feverishly using his right hand’s metal scoop to gnaw at a particularly hard tub of what looked like mint chocolate chip. His left hand tightly gripped a small cake cone wrapped in a napkin. His face looked scrunched in impatience. His darker jet black hair clung to his forehead even as he tilted forward and finally he bunched the scoop into the cone and rushed it over to a small tupperware of sprinkles. The boy seemed just as focused as the other employee, who had already begun serving another group, however…this second boy's impatient scrunch-face hadn’t cleared even after he got the hard ice cream free.

Regardless, Shoyo felt overwhelmed by the situation. The line of customers just seemed endless and nerve-wracking even as the two skilled scoops worked their asses off. Blood was draining from his face as more small details came into view, both about the place and of the employees amazing ability to not completely freak out. He wanted to leave, forget about this new summer job and just go home and—

“Don’t freak out too much, kid. I won’t put you in this mess quite yet.” Mr.Sawamura said, patting Hinata forcefully on the back sending Hinata out of his anxious daze.

Hinata regained his composure. “o-oh, hah, phew! Yeah this is crazy…is it like this all the time?”

“nah, this is just a rush. Rushes are just big daily surges of people that die down quick. Y’know everyone in the world thinks they’re unique and individual but is it any surprise that they all come in at the same times wanting the same thing?” Mr. Sawamura questioned casually as he picked up and crushed two empty tubs for recycling.

Hinata flinched trying to figure out what Mr. Sawamura meant, still a bit fuzzy from how overwhelming everything’s been. Mr. Sawamura opened the basement stairs door and continued his conversation from below while Hinata stepped halfway down to better hear his new boss.

“Once this dies down I’ll have Tobio teach you the ropes. You’ll learn serving and closing tonight since it’s the night shift.” Mr. Sawamura began climbing back upstairs as Hinata pressed lightly against the wall to get out of his way. Mr. Sawamura turned before the last step and faced Hinata.

“Don’t worry about screwing up either, there’s no way you’ll be the worst here. Also, call me Daichi. ‘Mr.Sawamura’ makes me sound old as hell!” With that Mr. Sawamura pushed open the knobless basement door and left Hinata to think. Shoyo wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment to him or a gripe against some of the boss’s less favorable workers…he forgot about it and went back upstairs.

Things seemed to die down, thankfully for Hinata. He was starting to feel calmer and more curious about his new workplace. He examined more of the building’s details. Everything had a very old sixties vibe. Even all the behind-the-counter machines were old, like the stainless steel behemoths churning frozen yogurt and soft serve side-by-side. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of another employee.

“Hey. Are you the new kid?” He asked curtly. It was the impatient boy with the scrunched face.

“yeah! Uh…hi! I’m Hinata Shoyo. You can call me Shoyo. What’s your name?” Hinata chimed, feeling a little self-conscious of his uncontrollable bubbliness coming out so soon.

“Kageyama Tobio. You’ll call me Kageyama. I’ll show you how things work around here.” He never cracked a smile and turned away from Shoyo, expecting him to follow behind. Hinata was thrown for a second by his candor but was soon approached by the other boy on shift.

“Hi...I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi. Most people here call me Yama…or Yams.”

“Hah, that’s cool! I like that nickname…Yams.” Yama replied with a weak, shy smile. Yama seemed much less charismatic than he did when dealing with customers. He still seemed genuinely nice, but…less charisma.

“Hey! Pay attention,” Kageyama barked at Hinata, who really wasn’t used to such an aggravated coworker. He didn’t reply but scurried towards the front counter near Tobio.

“OK, let’s go on a tour around the parlor, shall we? This, right here, is the main-flavor counter. There are 16 flavors in the front with replacement tubs rested beneath each. Got it? These flavors are what people see first. After some time we indicate to them that, yes, we do have more, right here in the other freezer.” Kageyama turned around and headed for a metal counter next to the soft serve machines. The counter slid open to reveal even more tubs of ice cream all stacked inside the back compartment.“These flavors are all stacked the same way as indicated by this dry-erase board, which says where these flavors are and how they’re stacked inside this back counter. Y’with me so far?”

Hinata's lips were pursed with his tongue sticking out slightly between them and his eyebrows curved down. He was completely focused and wanted to remember every little detail. He gave a small nod in response.

“OK, great. So we scoop the ice cream with these scoops right here, they’re nested in a little…” Kageyama turned and noticed Hinata facing away from him towards the front of the parlor.

Two customers had just walked in, a couple in their thirties. The woman had pale brown hair and wore a yellow striped tanktop and khaki shorts while the man next to her wore a baby blue polo shirt and white shorts.

"Hello! Welcome, how are you guys tonight?” Hinata beamed, his arms extended against the lip of the front-freezer counter holding his entire bodyweight as he lifted off the ground.

Kageyama’s face unscrunched for a split second at the surprise of Hinata. It soon rescrunched as he turned towards the orange haired kid, ready to tell him off and get the customers himself.

“Oh, hello! Thank you, we’re doing really great!” The woman beamed back. Her entire atmosphere seemed to change at Hinata’s welcome, as did her husband’s. Both relaxed their shoulders and perused the flavors. Hinata looked to his right next to the front ice cream freezer and noticed little plastic spoons, regular plastic spoons, topping canisters, different sizes of ice cream dishes, the register, and a scale.

“If you guys would like to sample any flavors just let me know! we have cute little sampling spoons just for that,” Hinata mentioned ever so casually. Kageyama was taken aback—they hadn’t even gone over customer service Or sampling methods! Kageyama had everything lined out and understood and this dumb freaking kid was just gonna ruin that? He had no idea what he was doing! He wasn’t ready to—

“Thanks so much! Could we try the black raspberry chocolate chip yogurt please?”

“Sure!” Hinata naturally leaned over to the jar of sampling spoons, grabbed one, lifted the clear plastic freezer display, and got a sample for the gentleman.

“Thank you!” The man took the tiny spoon and Hinata waited patiently.

"That’s my favorite flavor of these front ice creams! And it’s pretty popular too, good choice!”.

Tobio couldn’t believe this kid. What the hell was he saying? His favorite flavor?! And how could he possibly know it’s a popular flavor? Tobio’s fists were clenching tight at his sides.

"Ah, I really like it! I’ll get a medium dish of that flavor with hot fudge.” “Oh, make that two!” The lady added.

“No problem! Comin’ right up!” Hinata went into full swing and grabbed two magenta dishes, a scoop from the edge of the counter, and seamlessly made the order. He found the hot fudge dispenser against the wall, gave each a serving, brought the dishes to the scale, adjusted the weight of the scale a bit to account for the dish, weighed each ice cream, charged $9.85, rang them up, gave them their change, and offered another wide smile and concluded with a perfect “enjoy your ice cream, guys, have a great night!”.

How the fuck did he just do that.

I never showed him the hot fudge, the scale, the register…this is bullshit!

“OI, HINATA.” Tobio grabbed Hinata and cornered him against the soda machine. Hinata’s toothy grin immediately faded and his eyes opened wide as Kageyama towered over him.

“How. The fuck. Did you know. To do that.” Tobio’s arms gripped the wall as he bent over a cowering Shoyo, who couldn’t stop staring back at the terror above him. Kageyama was confused and a little envious, which, for him, always meant a furrowed brow and a tightly clenched jaw.

“I-I’m sorry…I-I just w-wanted to try s-serving, a-and..” Hinata could barely get his words out. Kageyama was steaming and appeared larger and larger over Shoyo. Tobio’s eyes just wouldn’t leave Hinata as he cowered further into his own explanation.

“Hey! Smile!” Yama snickered loudly across the walkway, holding up his phone and snapping photos of the two deer in the headlights. Both employees scrambled to their feet, especially Kageyama, who raced across the counter towards Yams, trying to snatch his phone. Yams knowingly scurried away towards the walk-in freezer and waited in there to check out his new favorite work photo.

Hinata composed himself and noticed Kageyama had calmed down. Tobio walked towards Shoyo and, while looking down at the floor, said he'll continue the tour now and he had better pay attention.

“Y-yes! I’m sorry for stepping on your toes before! Thank you for continuing with my tour Kageyama-senpai!” Hinata had finally organized his thoughts and realized what he needed to say. Kageyama had a faint pink to his cheeks as he accepted the apology and continued their tour.

The rest of the shift was a blur. Hinata had learned about the little water troughs where they kept ice cream scoops, both soft serve and yogurt machines that sputtered an awful noise (which creeped him out a little), the lemonade and fruit punch machine, the milkshake machine, the “Collider” machine (which, according to Tobio, was a nightmare and a half), the hotdog machine, and literally every other tiny thing Kageyama seemed to memorize. With sporadic customers and Tobio’s intense details it had taken them an hour and forty-five minutes just to go through everything. Hinata’s eyes were starting to glaze over with sleepiness, but he concentrated long enough to listen to everything the black-haired boy had to say.

Around 9:45, Mr.Sawamura came downstairs from his office. “Ah, Tobio, how’s this fire-haired new recruit doing?”

“He’s…fine. He’s getting the hang of things.” Tobio didn’t mention just how  _quickly_  Hinata had gotten the hang of things.

“Great! Can’t wait to give him more hours. We should probably start the closing list, there’s only two more customers on the golf course.”

Yams piped up from cleaning the milkshake tins. “w-we’ve already started, actually! We’re in the middle of restocking.”

“Good to hear, we should be able to close up by 10:30. Hinata, how’re you feelin’? How’s the first shift treatin’ ya?”

"a-awesome! I’m learning a lot and I can’t wait to keep scooping! Tobio’s really taught me a ton, he knows everything about this place!” Tobio, only feet away scraping ice cream tubs behind the orange haired boy, glanced at Shoyo from behind and grew slightly pink.

“Hah, true! Tobio’s one of our best! Alright, call me when you guys are done and I’ll lock up.” Daichi grabbed the recycling bin under the sink and went outside. Hinata did a 180 and Tobio immediately turned his face away from the shorter boy.

why was he blushing? Just ‘cause that dumb new kid complimented him? Of course he knows where everything is, it’s part of the job! Kid’s an idiot…

. . .

Yams began mopping the front of the parlor while Tobio adjusted the radio for anything close to a signal.

Shoyo was closely monitoring the closing procedure clipboard making sure he wasn’t missing anything. He’d gone through restocking with Yams and had also cleaned cracks and crevices between machines to try and keep busy. Any time he even leaned against the back counter Tobio would flash him a look that’d send him scrambling.

Around 10:20, two customers walked in, one with his hands in the pocket of his hoodie and another, shorter, clutching the other.

Hinata gasped happily.

“KENMA! What’s up, I’m so glad you’re here!” Hinata couldn’t smile wider.

“Hi Shoyo. This place is cool."

"I didn’t think you’d want to drive out here tonight! And..hi, are you…?”

“Hi, I’m Kuroo Tetsurou.”

“I thought I had introduced him before, Shoyo. This is my boyfriend.”

Hinata tried to keep it cool but he let out a little gasp again.

“You..hi! I know about you, Kuroo! Kenma’s told me a bit about you, it’s so nice to finally see you in person!”

“Ah, heh, he’s told you about me? All good things I hope?” Kuroo smiled and turned towards Kenma.

Hinata’s throat hitched for a second and he let out a small laugh.

“Hah, hah, uh, yeah! Very nice things. Very…” Hinata remembered a particularly deadpan text from Kenma regarding Kuroo’s _rather large…_

Hinata’s face flushed.

“ALL GREAT THINGS! Yes! Really, so nice to meet you!” Bring up something else. Immediately. Just…anything else.

“S-so..do you guys want anything? We haven’t covered the tubs yet if you want ice cream.”

“Ok. Can I get a small watermelon slushie actually, Shoyo?" Kenma requested quietly.

Hinata just loved talking to Kenma. he always remembers how unique their friendship is. Kenma’s never quite so sweet to anyone like he is to Hinata.

“Absolutely! And Kuroo? Y’want anything?”

“Sure, uh..how’s extreme chocolate?”

“Oh, super good. Wanna try it?”

“Nah i trust ya, I’ll get a small cup of that.”

“cool! I’ll grab those now.” Hinata first finished the extreme chocolate dish and moved on to the slushie. Hinata loved the practice, especially with slushies. He hadn’t made one without Tobio’s help yet. He grabbed a clear slushie cup, gave it 3 pumps of syrup, and carefully spun the slushie ice around the container until his concoction finally had a uniform pink.

Tobio turned away from the radio, watching Hinata prepare his friend’s order, noticing the utter concentration on Shoyo’s furrowed brow and pursed lips and small extended tongue, and couldn’t stop his stupid blush god damn it. He turned towards the radio again.

“H-hey. Nice job, that slushie mixed well pretty quickly.” Kageyama almost whispered it, not wanting Hinata to hear his compliment. Hinata looked over to him and had to compute that, yes, that was a real, actual compliment.

“T-thanks! I tri—" His hand shook, having forgotten about the extreme chocolate in his left hand, and it fell to the ground in a quick well-timed  _plop_.

As soon as Hinata bent down to retrieve the dish Tobio turned and grabbed it, blaming Hinata for screwing up the floor Yama had just mopped. Tobio threw the dish away in a huff and went towards the sink for a rag. Hinata, tongue-tied and pale-faced, just capped his first slushie and re-prepared Kuroo’s ice cream.

“T-that’ll be $5.30, please.” Hinata had regained his bubbliness but still a bit anxious about his mess-up. He glanced at Tobio, who had already cleaned the tiny mess.

Kenma brought his $10 bill forward and Kuroo immediately snatched it right out of his hand.

“nuh-uh, I’m paying.” Kuroo gave Hinata his card and, while Hinata squatted down under the counter for the card reader, gave a squinted grin to Kenma and ruffled his hair. Kenma looked away with the tiniest smirk and sipped at his slushie. He gripped his drink with both hands inside the sleeves of his oversized cream sweater.

“D’ya want your receipt, Kuroo?”

“Nah, s’fine. Could I get change for a dollar, though? We wanna play that old PONG machine.”

“Sure, here.” Hinata gave the couple some quarters and they sat by the window playing tabletop PONG.

Hinata plodded his way to his phone on the employee shelf, checking his messages.

“H-hey, sorry about the mess before, I forgot I had—"

“s’fine. It wasn’t that bad, really. Just don’t let it happen again.” Tobio was speaking calmly. Bluntly but calmly. His eyes never left the radio until he knew Hinata had turned towards his phone. He looked at Hinata’s sleepy face, slightly illuminated by his phone’s screen, and turned back towards the radio when he felt his face getting warmer. God damn this stupid face won’t stop heating up for no good reason.

**iMessage:**

**Kenmoo**

_ cute, right? _

**Shoyo**

_ YES!! OMG HE IS SO CUTE! you guys met at school? _

**Kenmoo**

_ yep. He's sort of bold, which I like. he treats me like you do and he can be comforting. _

Kenma never really gets how affectionate he can sound, turning Hinata into a blushing ball of mush at his friend.

**Shoyo**

_ That's so nice...I'm glad u like him. And hell yea if he treats u like i do then he knows a vicious blonde kitten who's too good at smash bros when he sees one  _

**Kenmoo**

_ is that really all i am to you, shoyo? just a quiet little cat / smash champion? _

**Shoyo**

_ nah ur way more than tht! don't u play mario kart too? _

**Kenmoo**

_ I couldn't find a middle finger emoji so just picture one _

Hinata snickered into his phone and tapped away.

Tobio had finally found a station but lingered on his milk crate, trying ever so subtly to see what could possibly be so funny to Shoyo. He leaned forward further over Hinata, who, so consumed by his conversation, couldn't see Tobio practically floating above him. Tobio inched closer and saw the edge of his screen, a contact named Kenma with too many emojis next to it, and part of a text that read "YES!! OMG HE IS SO CUTE! You g-"

Tobio's calf hit against the side table and he pushed his arm against the counter. The milk crate under him slid suddenly backwards and his feet caught on the edge of the counter and his torso flew forward. He caught himself as soon as it started, but still scraped his chest under his shirt and smacked his hand against his side.

Hinata spun violently, not sure what made such a loud sound at this point in the night, and saw only an awkwardly positioned Tobio lifting his shirt and inspecting a rugburn across his hip while getting back on his feet. Hinata's eyes were fixed on Tobio's creamy skin and narrow frame hidden under his baggy purple work shirt. hinata's face warmed up and he noticed Kageyama looking back.

He jolted forward and pretended like the entire thing never happened. Tobio stepped towards the bathroom and reached for the med kit. He didn't think it was that bad but damn did he want to escape that embarassment. God, could this new kid have a worse fucking impression of me?

Hinata wasn't sure what just happened but his mind kept flashing the same sight of Kageyama's exposed hip and midsection. His phone buzzed.

**Kenmoo**

_ What was that sound? _

Hinata didn't really know any better than he did.

**Shoyo**

_ uh..just my coworker, he fell fixing something and scraped his side _

**Kenmoo**

_ Oh the black haired guy who looked mad? _

**Shoyo**

_ lol, yeah him..he's...sort of cute actually. He's..pretty fit, it seems like. _

**Kenmoo**

_ wha _

_ how would you know? you just started don't tell me you guys got naked already _

**Shoyo**

_ Kenma WTF! i've never..done that _

_ no, I..he lifted up his shirt when he fell. thats it! shutup.. _

_ suddenly u get a boyfriend with a massive thingie and u assume everyone else does too _

**Kenmoo**

_ uncalled for. and i know shoyo, thats why im saying it because boy do you need to fix that _

_ also i wouldnt assume that guy you work with has anything massive _

**Shoyo**

_WOW LETS TALK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE_  

Hinata pushed his phone back on to the employee shelf and went to check the closing procedures. Yams had already grabbed the clipboard.

"Hey, Yama, How're we doing?"

"Good so far, just need to cover the toppings and turn off the outside lights. Wanna get the lights for me?"

"Sure, the switch is by the planters outside, right?"

"Yep! Can't miss 'em."

"Thanks, Yams!" Hinata strolled outside. He needed a moment alone to keep his thoughts from swimming further.

He walked towards the planters and thought about Yama, who seemed so friendly on his first day. He wanted to remember to get his contact before he left.

And Tobio...his mind went a bit too quick every time he tried to think about Tobio. He was a really weird guy...and his impatience is unbearable! But man, does he know this place...

He flicked three switches and, after a beat, noticed everything go dark aside from the parlor's "OPEN" sign. He walked back in through the front and gave a goodbye to Kenma and Kuroo, who were heading back to their car, and he continued inside.

He noticed Tobio and Yama clocking out and grabbing their things. Daichi joined them a second later.

"Hey, have a goodnight, boys! Hinata, hopefully your first shift wasn't too much of a nightmare. I tried to give you the best of the best but I know even these guys can cause trouble!" He gave Yama and Tobio a joking look and both boys smirked at their boss. Whether they really found Daichi's remarks funny or not didn't matter.

"Thanks, goodnight sir!" Hinata chimed mid-yawn.

"Ah, with the sir...so funny. He's the only one around here with any respect anymore!"

All three boys left the porch, said goodnight to Daichi's dog Focus, and headed to their cars. Yama gave both Shoyo and Tobio a bright "Goodnight!" and sped off. Tobio and Shoyo glanced at each other.

"g-goodnight, Kageyama!" Hinata waved softly while walking away towards his car.

"b-bye. Er, goodnight." Tobio opened his door.

He turned, face drooping and ready for bed, and pulled out his keys. Kageyama drove off.

Before Hinata hopped in, though, he noticed a figure in the car next to his. It was a tall man lying in the bed of a dark green truck. He wasn't asleep, just lying there. He had dark, long hair and wore a faded flannel shirt with blue shorts.

Hinata thought he was seeing things. He shrugged it off and went home, wondering faintly through the night if someone actually was there or not. By 11:02, Shoyo had fallen asleep, ready for his next shift outside.

 

 

. . .

 

 

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-

Hinata's eyelids lifted slowly, still plagued with sleep and bewildered by the sound of his phone. He reached across his hip to his side table and picked up his phone. Why was Kenma texting him this freaking late?

**iMessage:**

**916-5059**

Huh? Some random number...it's like midnight. What the hell...

_ Hey...it's Kageyama. I was working on this thing at home and realized you might benefit from this...sorry if it's late or something, just thought I'd send this, so... _

_ http://i.imgur.com/xm46NEA.jpg _

Hinata couldn't be more confused. He clicked the link and saw it was a drawing, but...he wasn't quite sure what he was looking at. He zoomed in.

Oh. It's...wow. This is so...cool! I can't believe he did this. this is unbelievable.

**Hinata Shoyo**

_ Wow, Kageyama, thanks! This is cool and rlly well done! _

_ I need to sleep but I'll check this out more tomorrow...srsly thank u! :D _

Hinata tapped his phone and put it on the table beside him. Even with a groggy mind, he still took a minute to fall back asleep what with Tobio's drawing going through his head. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Or him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> asanoyuhh.tumblr.com for update notifications and/or art of some scenes possibly


	2. Kids on Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suga gets tickled, Hinata needs to go a day without being cornered, Noya needs to get used to different music types, Tobio needs to take a chill pill and talk to this kid he likes...
> 
> All in a day's work.

“Goodnight boys! Don’t do anything or anyone stupid!” Daichi exclaimed as Shoyo shut the back door. Daichi immediately dropped his confident akimbo and sighed, expectedly, wishing he were in their shoes. His feet trudged tiredly across the black Parlor mats as he headed to the register, cashing out for the day. The register made it’s loud  _krshshrsh_  sound as it spewed the day’s transaction roll. He sauntered upstairs, each step creaking below his feet, and sat in his desk chair with a defeated  _thump_.

Daichi skimmed through receipts under yellow lamplight. “ahh, freaking Yams..had to reprint this customers receipt twice, I wonder what happened…”.

He always hated this part of the night. He could picture the fluffy new comforter he had just gotten as an anniversary present, how it always warmed him up so quickly…(before being ripped off of him halfway through the night). He could picture snuggling and cuddling and…sleeping…

But no, he was here, finding his kids’ mistakes across boring pixellated type. What a drag. For someone who owns the business, Daichi sure hates being a boss.

Caught up in his work and tired thoughts, Daichi flinched when warm, familiar hands slid across his collarbone and down to his abdomen across the wrinkles of his black Ice Cream Parlor polo.

“Hey..almost done?” Suga asked. His breath hit Daichi’s back, giving him goosebumps.

“The new kid rang all of his orders up with the nachos button, for some reason, but things are...good…” Daichi rubbed his face in his hands, shoving his reading glasses upwards. Suga didn’t respond, but rather bent down and nestled his cheek against Daichi’s shoulder with his arms hung in front of Daichi’s chest. Daichi could feel Suga’s wispy silver hair pressed against his own.

“I was weeding outside and saw you two talking…the new kid, I mean. He was bashful but he seems charismatic. He’s working outside, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve got him outside in two days, 9-5. You don’t have to come by until noonish.” Daichi explained, sighing between words, as he fervently x’ed out another voided transaction.

“that’s so wonderful. I love teaching new employees about the garden…” Suga beamed. “I pour my heart and soul into that thing, I hope that redhead can do the same…”

Daichi suddenly swiveled his chair and brought his hands to Suga’s hips.  Suga jumped back, forced out of his sleepy daze, expecting instantaneously what he was gonna do.

“Don’t—“ he yelped, barely finishing the word.

As he thought, Daichi started tickling his sides. It didn’t take much for Suga to start cackling instantly.

“His hair’s orange! Not RED!" "ahahahahahahDAICHI WHAT STahahaDAICHI IM TIRED AND YOU KNaahahaha!”

Daichi lowered his hands. He couldn’t stop smiling at what he had caused. Suga regained his composure but noticed the biggest shit-eating grin across his boyfriend’s face. Daichi scooted closer and wrapped his hands around Suga's waist, their laughs dying down to murmured giggles. Suga pouted but echoed Daichi, his hands gripped across the other’s back. “You jerk! what was that for? His hair? You know I’m so tired…” Suga asked, smiling. He inched his head closer.

“Well obviously I finished my work and needed to celebrate. Plus you got Hinata’s hair color wrong so I had to correct you.” Daichi smirked and pressed his forehead against Suga’s.

“I guess that’s...fair. I don’t really see what tickling has to do with that though.”

Suga stared into his boyfriends eyes for a moment. He smiled before pressing his lips softly against Daichi's. They both sighed into the kiss, sharing their first moment of relaxation for the day. Both had been longing for a moment alone together. Too exhausted to take things further, Suga released the kiss and lowered his head on to Daichi’s shoulder. Daichi loved holding his boyfriends weight, the feeling of his head against him, his warmth surrounding him.

“So Hinata? That’s the new kid’s name?” Suga murmured, his eyes closed. 

“Yep, Hinata Shoyo. Orange haired ball of energy. He’s pretty good so far, inside at least. I saw him serving and talking to customers all night.” Daichi was whispering now. He started swaying lightly.

“I'm coming by at noon...and Hinata’s opening, is someone showing him where everything is?”

“I have Asahi scheduled for that time too. He’ll supervise Shoyo and show him the opening procedure.” 

Suga lifted his head. His faced turned pensive.

“Will that work?” Suga asked.

“Why wouldn’t it work?” 

“Well, after today I’m just…” He paused. “…worried about Asahi.” Suga nestled his head again, recalling his earlier shift. “I…didn’t really realize until today how bad his anxiety could get.” His tone had grown worried.

“Well it’s either 9-5 with Shoyo or 7-close with Nishinoya and Kageyama.” Suga let out a discomforted sigh. “OK, I’ll give him the closing shift. Can you come by early for Hinata and show him around?”

Suga lifted his head, smiling. “Yes. I don’t mind, really. I’ll get time with the new kid too.”

Daichi pecked his boyfriend before turning around and grabbing his transaction folder. “C’mon, we’ve been here long enough. Let’s go home.”

As Daichi started going downstairs, Suga gave him a weak smile before returning to his worried glance. He stepped towards the window and flicked his finger against the blinds. He scanned the back parking lot: a tall figure sprawled across a familiar green truck.

He turned off the office lamp and caught up to his boyfriend ready to head home and rest.

 

. . .

 

“SHOYOOO! honey! Come downstairs, I made breakfast! You better eat quick, your shift’s in half an hour!”

Shoyo raced downstairs feeling energized as ever. He was already dressed and ready to head off, this time wearing his special outside-work shirt. Unlike his inside shirt, which was an orange (chosen himself, favorite color) polo with the company’s ice cream logo, this one was a white t-shirt with a giant mini-golf logo printed across his back. He could smell coffee, eggs, bagels, sausage, bacon…

“Mom! What’d you make? Natsu already left for school, so…isn’t it just me he—”

Shoyo’s mouth went agape. “Whaa! Look at..it’s…THIS IS A FEAST, MOM!"

“Yeah! Well I was just so excited about your new job, so I made your favorites! And, well, I know your favorites are really just all breakfast food, so…I got a little carried away! I hope you don’t mind!”

Shoyo squeezed his mom as she finished loading the dishes and grabbed a plate and ate.

And boy, did he  _eat._

Slumped over in his chair, with his feet resting on the chair next to him, Shoyo had conquered his breakfast. And his stomach. And any chance of feeling adequately full. And…his chances of showing up on time. He looked at his watch.

_ oh no. _

“MOM I GOTTA GO BYE LOVE YO—“

The door slammed before he finished. He bolted towards his car and sped off towards rt. 3. He had 12 minutes. It was a 10 minute drive, he knew, but he expected to be at least 15 minutes early. Who wouldn’t want to be early for work? Especially a job he just got! He’d be fired on the spot, he knew it. A scenario of a furious Mr. Sawamura kept replaying in his head, no matter how many times he turned his music up.

He pulled in to the employee parking lot and jumped out of his car, speeding towards the front. While preoccupied with racing towards the golf building, he noticed how scorching hot it was outside. It had to be over 90 degrees, seeing how— 

_ thud. _

Shoyo clamored upward and lent his hand to the man he completely toppled.

“Aaah! I’m sorry, I—“ Shoyo froze. He noticed the man he had crashed into. He had a Karasuno mini-golf shirt.

I just ran head-first into my boss.

“Ah, hi! it’s okay! Don’t worry, really.” He noticed the mini-golf logo as he got to his feet. "You must be the new guy! I’m Sugawara Koushi. you can call me Suga.” He stuck his hand out casually, offering a wide, squinty smile. The man had a baggy cream-colored mini-golf shirt. His shorts were light blue jean-shorts that went halfway down his thighs and tucked in his baggy top. He wore tan canvas sneakers ripped on the sides with old grass stains crawling up their soles. He was technically Hinata’s boss, but…he was so different from Mr. Sawamura.

Hinata let out a small sigh of relief. “Hi! thanks. I’m Hinata Shoyo, you can call me Shoyo. Or Hinata. Or really anything, it’s fine.” He grabbed Suga’s hand and felt an unexpected softness to his touch. He started to feel much more at ease.

“well, so, let’s start! You haven’t worked outside before, right?”

“n-no! This is my first time. I just had my first inside shift yesterday too.”

“Ah, cool! Was it busy? Did you have a nice time adjusting?”

“It wasn’t very busy, no. Not when I was there, anyway. And..” Kageyama’s angry, towering face flashed through Shoyo’s mind, as did the drawing he sent last night.

“..adjusting was..fine. It’s a little complicated but I think I’m picking it up. I actually really like how complex it all is. The parlor, I mean.”

“I’m glad! It’s not often that people take the inside job seriously. Or the outside one, for that matter…” Suga went and grabbed the golf building keys next to the doormat.

“Well, let’s start!"

Suga showed Hinata everything he could..and boy, was it everything. They started the opening procedure together, Suga following Hinata and cheerfully answering his (many) questions. After blowing the carpets and sifting through ash trays, Suga took him around the golf building and shed, where Hinata found grabbed Suga’s old boombox.

For hours they cleaned, scrubbed, weeded, sifted, blew mats, talked to customers…all while hearing the one blaring tape Daichi had left in Suga’s boombox, a worn copy of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. They talked about the job and Mr. Sawamura, how angry he could get sometimes, inside and outside horror stories…

Hinata couldn’t have loved menial work more.

“Thank you so much for showing me this, Suga! I’m having so much fun!”

"Ah, I’m glad! It really isn’t always this fun, I guess having two people is better.”

“I guess so. You’re a great teacher!” Hinata gave Suga his typical toothy grin, to which Suga smiled in return. "Do we have anything else left on the list?”

“Let’s see…we’ve got most of it done, really, the last thing is watering the planters against the golf building and checking the recycling bin. Wanna rock paper scissors for ‘em?”

Shoyo smiled deviously. “Suga…you’re messing with the wrong man! Get ready…” He brought his fist forward and started the countdown.

_ “Three!” _

_ “Two!” _

_ “One!” _

Suga’s paper defensive was no match against Hinata’s quick scissor attack.

“Gaaah…you were right. Fine, go and check the recycling bins. There’s two around the golf building and one  on the walkway near the Parlor. I’ll start filling a pail.” Suga walked away slumped with a joking grimace. Hinata went to finish his task as soon as possible, flaunting the whole time how victorious he had been.

“How’s your job going, Suga?” Hinata asked facetiously, rubbing in once again that, yes, he won.

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” Suga said devilishly as he quickly stuck his finger in the garden hose and absolutely  _soaked_  Hinata.

Hinata didn’t miss a beat when he sprinted for the shed and grabbed the fountain hose. He turned the nozzle and started…a much bigger war than just rock paper scissors.

By 5 P.M., both were completely drenched. So drenched, in fact, that only a truce could conclude the fight. The only things not totally covered in water, inadvertently, were the planters against the golf building.

 

Suga heard the phone inside the golf building start to ring. “Shoyo, we’ll have to settle this later!” he dried off inside and picked up the phone. Shorter rings…he could tell it was the intercom.

“Hey, what’s up? Oh, Daichi? Hey, you—…Shoyo? He’s pretty much done, We’ve finished covering everything out here—okay. Sure, yeah, I’ll send him over. Love y—…uh, er, bye.”

Suga went back towards the shed seeing Shoyo in the sun drying his clothes with a dish cloth.

“Hey, Shoyo, Mr. Sawamura just called. He said you should be good to leave for today. You can clock out over in the Parlor.”

“Okay! Thanks, Suga!” He got to his feet and walked towards the golf building to grab his white and orange drawstring bag. Suga followed and started adding more golf clubs to the front counter.

“Well ok, I’m off. Thank you so much for today, Suga. I really mean it, I was..honestly pretty nervous after working inside and I just had such a good time today.”

 Suga bent forward and squeezed Shoyo in a tight hug. “No problem Shoyo! I loved teaching you today, it was really such a nice time. You’re one of the only people I’ve met who realizes how fun the outside shift is. The gardening and planting, being in the sun…not many people really get it.” He let go and turned towards his clubs again. “Well I’m glad I do! Thank you!” Hinata beamed.

“Have a good afternoon Hinata!”

“You too, Suga! See ya next time!”

Hinata walked the path to the ice cream parlor, checking his phone. Two texts from Mom, one from Kenma, and a shift reminder text from Mr. Sawamura this morning. He glanced over Tobio’s text from the previous night and started wondering when they might have another shift together.

The door-chime clanged as Hinata stepped into the Parlor. “Shoyo! How was outside?” Mr. Sawamura called as he was chopping onions.

“Unbelievable! It was such a nice time, I love working with Suga—er, Mr.Sugawara.” Hinata corrected, not yet sure how professional Mr.Sawamura wanted him to act.

“Great! I have you scheduled for some more outside shifts later. Get home though, anyway, it’s already 5:07!”

Hinata scooted by his boss and grabbed his punch-in card. He noticed the schedule board behind him and snapped a photo of it for later. His name was sparse this week, but it seemed to pickup as he got more hours in.

As he clocked out he could hear a faint voice from the other side of the corner, near the front ice cream freezer. Both voices were new to him…employees he hadn’t worked with yet. He felt an inkling of fear trickle across his spine as he realized how many inside employees he hadn’t met yet. He started hearing the middle of their conversation.

“…so this fuckin’ dude starts groping him and taking him downstairs. Yams wasn't fightin’ it or anything, but he didn’t seem as gung-ho about it as Tsukishima did. They both seemed pretty blasted too. Anyways, they head to the basement, near the back towards where all the cups are…”

Hinata bent his head around the corner. The employee talking was short. His Parlor polo was a dark maroon and he wore tight black jeans which contrasted his pale skin. His hair was slick and jet black, with a single bleached tuft hanging on his forehead. He was leaning against the back freezer counter. The other boy faced him, leaning against the front counter, with a gray Parlor polo and black basketball shorts. His buzz cut and tanner skin made him just as intimidating as the employee opposite him. Hinata kept listening.

“…Sawamura I guess needed to check on everyone, something he does at every employee party to make sure no one’s gone over the edge…anyway he looks everywhere and eventually heads downstairs. I don’t know much more than that, other than what everyone else knows. The aftermath was Sawamura lookin’ spooked, Tsukishima leaving all angry and quiet, Yamaguchi going home with me and pukin’ a fuckin’ storm in my bathroom…” The short worker telling the story trailed off, leaving the buzz-cutted employee time to respond.

“Shit, man. Who else knows that happ—“

the short employee glanced in Hinata’s direction. “HEY! THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKIN’ AT?”

Hinata gasped and spun immediately against the wall. He pretended like he wasn’t just listening to their gossip, stepping towards the schedule and looking at it anxiously. The short employee hustled over quick — he got right in Shoyo’s face while the buzz-cutted employee stood behind him with a wide-eyed, toothy look on his face.

“How much did you hear.” His words were kurt and intimidating, leaving Shoyo speechless.

“I-I, uh..I d-don’t kn-know.” Shoyo barely squeaked the words out. The short employee’s fists were clenched against the wall on either side of Shoyo, leaving him in a situation not too different from yesterday.

“Noya, wait…this is that kid! Remember? That new kid!” The taller employee inputted. Noya turned, his anger replaced with pleasant surprise. He started smiling devilishly.

“Shit, really?” He turned again towards Hinata. "Ha! It is! That’s classic!” Buzz-cut pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his photos. Shoyo couldn’t have been more confused.

“ph-photo? What photo?” Shoyo muttered quietly. “The fuckin’ photo—bahahah, this one!” Buzz-cut shoved his phone towards Shoyo. It was a blurry snap of Kageyama cornering him in the Parlor while he feared for his life. Kageyama’s face was blurry and confused as it turned towards the camera, while Shoyo’s face was still pale and terrified. Shoyo’s face grew redder as he remembered how Yama concluded that whole incident the other day.

“u-uh..th-that’s—“

“Kid, no explanation needed. You two look fuckin’ perfect together, I’m sorry we missed your first intimate moment.” Buzz-cut crippled over laughing as he noticed Shoyo’s beet red face.

“Hey, knock it off moron. Kid’s getting embarrassed.” The shorter kid backed away from Shoyo and punched buzz-cut hard on the arm. "He just started here! Need I remind you of when you first started and that girl came in with her friend and you—“

“HEY! That..shutup!” Buzz-cut clammed up immediately, pulling his phone back to his pocket. He crossed his arms and glanced away.

“Hah, thought so.” Noya turned back towards Shoyo. “Y’seem nice, kid. Even if yer’ a snoop. Name’s Nishinoya Yuu. You can call me Noya. This idiot here is named Ryunosuke Tanaka. You can call him any swear you wish.” Tanaka looked up. “pff…just Tanaka is fine.” He was still a little deflated from before but stuck his hand out for a fist bump.

Shoyo finally took a breath. He gripped Noya’s hand then moved onto a fist bump for Tanaka. “h-hi. I’m Hinata Shoyo. You can call me Shoyo…or Hinata. Or whatever.”

“Cool, alright. Clockin’ out? Worked outside today?” Noya questioned, moving towards the dishes. Tanaka went and greeted a family waiting for their order.

“Yeah. And yeah, learned about the outside stuff from Mr. Sugawara. S-so it’s just you two working inside?”

“Yeah, well, Tanaka’s leavin’ in a minute once tallhippy shows up, his shift’s been 10-5. I’ll be here till 7, tallhippy’s 5 to close,  _if he ever fuckin’ shows up_ , and blueberry’s in here from 7 to close.” Noya kept scrubbing at an empty tub while Shoyo looked confused again.

“B-blueberry? Are these employees I haven’t met?”

“Ah, kid, you haven’t heard my nicknames yet, that’s right! I call Kageyama blueberry ‘cuz the kid hates it and he looks like a fresh young awkward blueberry.” Shoyo didn’t understand the name any better than before.

“And Asahi I call tallhippy ‘cuz…well, it’s pretty self-explanatory. He’s tall and fuckin’ weird.” Noya finished his sentence with bite, the last phrase holding aggravation Shoyo could hear.

“Ah ok. I’ll…remember those nicknames. Hinata walked a step and faced the front counter. “Bye Tanaka!”

“Later kid!” Tanaka yelled over the soft-serve monster.

"Well, I’m off. Nice to meet you, Noya.”

“Nice to meet you too, hairball!” I’ll catch you later.” Hinata’s eyebrows curled for a second before ignoring the nickname and opening the back door. He tip-toed over Focus’s bed and said bye to the old beagle. Focus squinted his dark marbly eyes at Shoyo’s pets and licked his hand. In a moment he revved his engine and left, more tired than he’d been at all that summer.

 

“Yo, I’m clockin’ out! Get yer’ ass over here, Noya!” Tanaka yelled a bit too loud in a family establishment, grabbing his bag and Monster from the employee shelf.

“Oh, right, lemme just fuckin’ drop everything,” Noya said sarcastically. He did put his milkshake down though and walked over, giving Tanaka the long, intricate handshake they’d come up with. Tanaka smiled and left in peace. Noya could hear the sound of his piece of shit Geo Metro revving across the parking lot.

Noya walked back over and finished mixing his milkshake. _Fuckin’ Asahi. 15 minutes late already…I mean, sure, there’s no rush right now, but god this guy…just…whatever._ Noya absent-mindedly grabbed a large cup.

“Here’s your milkshake, sir! Anything else for ya?” Noya asked, smiling more than he had with Tanaka.

“No thanks, just this.”

“Ah, ok that’ll be 5.70 please.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Asahi walk in. He ignored it and snatched the guy’s 10, giving him his change in record time. “Thanks, have a good one.” His pleasant disposition had come and gone with the arrival of tallhippy.

Noya stomped to the other side of the parlor. “What took you so long?” He barked under his breath, pretending to wash a dish while staring daggers at Asahi. Asahi glanced at Noya and let out a shy “sorry” while he clocked in. He had bags under his eyes.

Noya kept staring while Asahi lined up his punch-in card. He was wearing dark blue shorts his classic forest green polo, and a beige and red flannel tied haphazardly around his waist. After punching in, Asahi rustled around his pockets for a green rubber band. He reached up and tied his long hair back into a bun, some strands not making the cut and falling by his jaw.

Noya’s frustration subsided as he noticed more how Asahi seemed…off. While tying his hair back he noticed Noya’s stare and Noya quickly focused back on the dishes.

“Hi, excuse me?” A customer piped up, looking at Noya.

“Yes! Hi, sorry about that. What can I get you?”

 

Asahi walked towards the schedule wall and took a deep breath. He rubbed his hands against his eyes.

_ You can do this. Please don’t freeze up. Please, just let Nishinoya handle things like he always does if something happens. It’s all okay. You’ll be okay. _

Asahi concentrated as hard as he could to hear his positive thoughts but, like instinct, a fearful, anxious thought followed each one. 

_ You’re gonna freeze up. Everyone will see it and scream back at you. The customer, the boss… _

_...Noya. _

Asahi took another deep breath and waited another minute. Finally he headed towards the front counter and opened up the front freezer lid.

“Hello, can I help the next group?”

 

. . .

 

“Blueberry! You finally leavin’?” Noya exclaimed across the parlor, noticing the sound of Tobio clocking-out. Tobio ignored his stupid nickname and clocked out for his 10-minutes. He grabbed his snack bag and noticed Asahi coming near the employee shelf for his Nalgene bottle.

“How're you feeling, Asahi?”

Asahi turned his head and smiled meekly in response. Asahi stuck out his hand and gave Kageyama a light pat on the back. He and Tobio had an unspoken bond that was mutually understood as soon as they began working together…Tobio appreciated his quietness and Asahi envied his diligence. They enjoyed their mostly wordless friendship.

Tobio walked outside near the picnic area. He sat down, sipped at his grape juicebox, and pulled out his phone.

one message from Mom, two from Mr. Sawamura (one typical shift text and another “Asahi is late can you call / text etc. etc.”)...

...and one from Shoyo.

**iMessage:**

**Hinata Shoyo**

_ Hey! I thought you were working inside today? _

Tobio stared. He hated texting...he always tripped up somehow. He knew he would, too, just like he had the other night sending Hinata his dumb drawing. Gah, remembering that made him feel embarrassed.

**Kageyama Tobio**

_ Yeah, I’m inside right now. I’m closing tonight. _

He sent it, feeling regret already. Maybe he sounded too kurt? Maybe Shoyo—

**Incoming Call:**

**Hinata Shoyo**

uh. uh…wha..um.

“Hello?”

“Kageyama! Hey, what’s up? Are you on break? Can’t you not take breaks on night shifts? Er maybe you can, you’ve been there two years. Is it an experience thing?”

Kageyama was dumbfounded. He never really called anyone anymore, especially friends. _Why is this dumbass calling me at 9:45 with so many questions?_

“Sorry, I’m just…I don’t know. I’ll go slower. How are you?” Hinata sounded less enthused, almost worried he had upset Tobio.

“I’m…fine. I’m outside in the picnic area. Night shift workers can take 10-minute breaks, it doesn’t have to do with experience.”

“Ah. Thanks. Um..”

Tobio froze, realizing that Shoyo didn’t exactly have another topic to move onto.  _Why did he call me?!_

“h-how was your outside shift? You were outside, right?” Tobio felt relieved having found something else to bring up.

“Yes! It was so great. I really love the outside work, actually. I know Suga mentioned that some people don’t like it but it was such a blast…don’t you work outside too?”

“n-nah. I used to but Daichi moved me to the inside shift to cover for..schedule changes.” Tobio stayed vague in his explanation, not sure how much Shoyo knew about Tsukishima and his history at the company.

“Ah, that’s too bad. It would’ve been fun to work outside with you. I mean I’ll still see you inside which is fine too, so…” Hinata trailed off. _God damn it, how can this dumb new kid make my face feel warm through the phone?!_

“Yeah, I sort of miss outside work sometimes. I remember I used to spend a lot of time just drawing and weeding when Suga was there. He and I get along fine but he’s usually busy with customers and I usually finished the morning procedure quick enough to sit and draw…” Tobio trailed off this time, feeling a bit too coy and uncomfortable with this other boy knowing about his hobby.

“Ah your drawings! I loved your drawing from a couple nights ago!”

“T-thanks, hopefully it's usefu—“ he checked his watch.

_ 9:57. _

“Ah, shit, um..sorry Shoyo I need to go, we’ll talk later or something.” Tobio quickly gathered his things and started pacing for the back door.

“o-oh, yeah, sure. I’ll talk to you later. Goodnight Tobio.”

He hung up and raced inside, clocking in as soon as possible. This was the first time in a long time that he had exceeded his 10-minutes. Asahi and Noya were already beginning the closing procedure, Asahi sweeping by the PONG machine and Noya scraping down the front freezer’s tubs.

“Hey Tallhippy! Any chance we could turn off this fuckin’ dumb hippy music?” Noya yelled over, earning a furrowed-browed “tch” from an already tired Asahi.

“Oh, right, why don’t we just blast your punk music then and have Daichi ask you to leave your shift early again!” Asahi yelled back, having had enough of Noya’s shit. Noya never quite knew when to stop with Asahi, but this was new. Asahi rarely responded. Noya just leaned back towards the front freezer with a flustered look on his face. K ageyama ignored their banter and started restocking sample spoons. He went for the stock bin and stopped for a second.

_ Shit…I didn’t say goodnight back. _

 

. . .

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-

Shoyo woke with a small grin and reached for his phone. He knew, at this point, who’d be texting him so late into the night.

**iMessage:**

**Kageyama Tobio**

_ <http://i.imgur.com/eyNyW1q.jpg> _

_ Here’s an old drawing from last month. _

_ And I forgot to say goodnight on break before, so…goodnight Shoyo. _

Hinata, lit only by his phone, smiled wide and stared at Kageyama’s drawing. Thoughts and memories raced through his head of his first day outside, working with Suga, all the people he had met…

He reread Tobio’s texts and soon drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> In case you were wondering:  
> Hippy Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj-0vMrZJbo  
> Punk Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgpaOW_q5Z4
> 
> Asanoyuhh.tumblr.com


	3. Focus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the Daichi's away, the kids will all play!
> 
> Er, well, not play, more like work way more hours and feel slightly overwhelmed by the lack of staff.
> 
> But these boys are ready for anything, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSSSSST I did art for this chapter but it wasn't a Tobio sketch so it wasn't part of the fic:  
> http://asanoyuhh.tumblr.com/post/127568352964/sugar-rush-chapter-3-haikyuu-ice-cream-parlor-au

“Three weeks?!”

 

“…Yes. Three.”

 

“In…where was it?”

 

“..Colorado.”

 

Sugawara tenses as seven confused pairs of groggy eyes stare back at him with trepidation. All of Karasuno’s best huddled around the PONG machine in the Parlor; Suga leaning against the machine’s glass; each employee slumped around him. Their employee meetings were late into the night after close and most sane workers dreaded the day when an employee meeting reared its ugly head.

Suga looks down at his clipboard. He scans familiar doodles surrounding bullet points of nitpicky problems, usually brought up by a laughably frustrated Daichi…this time, though, one single note stands out above the rest, scrawled in expo marker over the lamination.

“so..wait…” Yams pipes up, raising his hand slightly. “It’ll just be us…six? And you outside?”

“That’s right! Daichi’s already off to the airport and I just got a call that Tanaka will be in Tokyo for two and a half weeks for his summer class. It’s just us!” Suga beams confidently, hiding any sign of doubt he might have. He looks back down to the large note and rereads it, making sure he covered the extent of it. He was ready to takeover, sure, but after last month’s shift changes...

It'll be a fairly busy three weeks for his boys.

He looks back towards his tired flock. “OK! Let’s get right down to it! There are WAY more things we need to take care of than you’d think!” Suga leans forward towards the center of the huddle. He suddenly spins on his heel towards a blank-faced, flannel-clad Asahi.

"OK! First things first! Asahi! You’ll be mostly outside for the next three weeks, depending on who’s available.” Asahi gave a shy thumbs-up in response. He spins again to his left. "Noya, Kageyama, Yama, you three will be our inside crew.” He pointed to each individual boy with fervor.

“YEAAH! INSIDE CREW REPRESENT! LET’S FUCKIN’ GO, BITCHES!” Noya exclaims as he clenches his fists towards the air. Kageyama, half-asleep at the announcement, startles easily at Noya’s outburst.

Suga swivels towards Hinata. Hinata's head darts up with an anxious stare.

“And Shoyo! You’ll be inside and outside depending on who’s available when. You’ll work just as much as these guys, maybe even more, so you’d better be ready!” 

“Y-you got it! I’ll be ready every day, rain or shine!” Shoyo responds confidently. Kageyama, stubbornly against other employees working more than him, mutters a light “tch” under his breath. He considered work a competition of sorts, one where he was the clear winner in hours and performance.

"And I have one more thing!” He spins on his heel again, facing Tobio once more. “Kageyama, I need you to take care of Focus while Daichi’s gone.”

Tobio's throat tightens for a moment. A look of worry flashes across his face.

“O-ok. I’ll...take care of Focus.” Tobio responds, quickly returning to his straight-face and slightly furrowed brow while his eyes dart away in contemplation.

“Great!” Suga turns back to the group, feeling powerful in his rare bossy position. His title was manager, sure, but his man usually did all the fun things like yell or give orders. “Alright, boys, everyone come in. I mean it! Hands in, like a team! C’mon, we’re all tired and want to go home, so let’s wrap this up!”

The boys get shoulder to shoulder, feeling slightly awkward at their collective stance, while Suga shoves his fist towards the center. This was secretly Suga’s bread and butter: firing his boys up when Daichi couldn’t.

“Okay, boys, look. I know daichi’s away for three weeks—BUT! WE WILL MAKE IT! DO NOT WORRY! I’ve been here long enough, Asahi’s been here long enough, we’ve all been here and know how this place operates. Sure, we’ll have some…hiccups.” Suga facetiously glares at Shoyo and gets a laugh from the group, receiving a bewildered “uwaah?!” from the orange-haired boy. “BUT! I am actually really excited for these next three weeks! LET’S SEE WHAT WE’RE MADE OF!”

Noya steps in and fervently slaps his hand on top of Suga's. “LET’S DO THIS! C’MON BOYS! LET’S SCOOP SOME GOD DAMN ICE CREAM!”

The other boys, even Kageyama and Asahi, all excitedly push their fists towards the center of the huddle.

“ALRIGHT! On three, as loud as we can, we cheer ‘WET STICKY CREAM!’”

“Wait, Noya, I think-“

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"THREE!"

The complete terror of his employees' loudness stuns Sugawara as they, in the middle of the night, scream the phrase ‘wet, sticky cream!’ at the top of their lungs.

His worry was fortified as he drove home, wondering how many “hiccups” he might be facing soon.

 

. . .

 

It had been cloudy that day but as night fell, he noticed, the clouds had drifted off. Pine trees swarm around his periphery. He was out there again, imprinting his truck bed with sweat, trying to drift off in the parking lot to no avail. Asahi’s mind stirs under the star-covered sky.

The feeling is familiar but unwelcome. Asahi recognizes his 1AM insomnia, when only the crickets talk and only his mind is active anywhere near. Sometimes, at the crux of his anxiety, he can’t move a muscle. Mostly, though, he just tosses and turns, waiting for some kind of calm to tide his storm. He adjusts himself once more, trying to find a certain spot, maybe, which could ease his…tension. Anxiety. Pressure—he never knows what word really defines this feeling. It's an unexplainable alienation from himself, a tight bind in his chest; an unexplainable weight on his bones, his muscles, his psyche.

“Tallhippy, what the fuck’re you doin’ out here?! Don’tche ever go home?”

Asahi flinched and thought he was imagining the sound of Nishinoya’s grating insult, like it was another thought or memory creeping inside his sleep-deprived head, as he felt a hard boot hit the side of his truck. Those same boots clacked towards the other direction at the foot of his car.

“Hey, d-don’t—“

He sits up. Noya's at the edge of his truck. The boy jumps up and starts climbing up on his truck bed...crawling closer.

Asahi couldn't think. His legs reflexively bend inwards towards his chest. He slides backwards feeling his back thump the back window of the truck chassis.

“n-noya…!?”

Noya replies with a devilish, maniacal grin, edging closer and closer. 

Asahi’s mind froze as Noya crawled over his legs. He paused inches from his face. A bead of sweat trickles down Asahi’s neck into his shirt. His breath hitched. His throat's dry and his cheeks flush pink as he stares this grinning boy in the eyes. His bleached tuft of hair fell close to Asahi’s forehead and his breath reeked of some unplaceable strong taste.

Noya, smirking, holding his head above Asahi’s with an unwavering stare, whispers one word. He drags it out, slipping it between his lips and tongue, and lets it leave his mouth slowly and with bite, bewildering the other even more:

_ “Aaasssahiii...” _

His hands shoot forward and grip Asahi’s cheeks. He smashes his lips against his, Asahi’s breath hot through his nose, his chest sinking as he exhales into the kiss.

Asahi’s eyes close slowly, his shock fading into ecstasy, as he embraces the intense heat against his face and cheeks, his skin pulled lightly at each long, bony finger spread against him. His hands grip Noya’s leather jacket. Noya shoves his tongue forward, forcing his way into Asahi’s mouth; his left hand drifts towards the back of Asahi’s head, gripping his un-bunned locks of hair. Asahi’s head swims with thoughts, primal thoughts, which soon spike as Noya’s right hand drifts down and slides through the front of Asahi’s shorts palming his erection.

His eyes shoot open. He's sweating. The only sounds above his head are crickets and the light sway of the trees.

He sits upward, his breath tight in his lungs, only to see an empty lot and an equally empty golf course. His crotch is tight, he notices, as something poked uncomfortably from within his shorts. He sighs heavily and slumps backward.

He would figure out what that whole thing meant…later. Now, he realized, feeling…more calm, he noticed, was the time to sleep.

 

He finds his spot in the stars and feels tired for once, hoping he might catch the end of that dream.

 

. . .

 

So far, Shoyo noticed, things were going smoothly. It had only been three days since Daichi’s leaving but, he thought, nothing catastrophic yet.

He clocks out on the dot and walks towards his car, spinning his keyring on his finger. The sun had already set and nighttime poked it’s way through the pines. He waves goodbye to Yama, who he was now happy to see as a good friend. He treated Yama with honesty, always explaining his thoughts and telling stories to the other boy knowing the other boy wasn’t always inclined to speak. Sure, Shoyo felt a little odd being the only real talker in the friendship, but it worked for him. Plus, Shoyo thought, they were an incredible duo behind the counter.

He waves goodbye to Tobio as well, who, he thought, turned away very quickly at Hinata’s smile. He was worried he might’ve done something to upset Kageyama…it bugged him more than he wanted it to. 

That lead to Shoyo to wonder if he’d caused any “hiccups” today. It was just him, Yama, and Tobio. They finished closing procedures at a timely 10:20, they didn’t leave without checking everything...Shoyo fretted still, wondering what tub he didn’t scrape down or what item he didn’t stock…

he shoves away those thoughts and revs his engine. He was ready to head home and see a very tired Natsu who just wouldn’t not wait up for him.

Until, in his periphery, he notices Tobio standing by his car knocking shyly on the passenger side window. Shoyo slides the window down, thinking they might’ve forgotten something.

“H-hey, um…”

“Tobio! What’s up? D-did we forget something?”

“No, it-it’s fine. The inside’s good…can I...ask for a favor?”

“s-sure, what’s that?”

“W-well, so…Sugawara asked me to take care of Focus while Daichi’s gone, and…uh..I—um...” Tobio drifted off, motioning to his left hand. He was holding Focus’s leash in his hand, taught, with Focus squat at the foot of Hinata’s passenger side door.

“Do you need help looking after him?”

“…yeah, just t-tonight, if you could…I can’t…take him home, so, um, c-can I just wash him up at your house?” Tobio looked like his head was about to explode. He stuttered his thought, clenching Focus’s leash tightly, staring intently with his furrowed brow away from the orange haired boy. Hinata thought it might’ve been a pride thing for Kageyama, like not being able to do this meant he couldn’t…do his job, or something? He didn’t question it much.

“Yes, s-sure. That’s fine! We can put him in my bath, it should be okay with my Mom. I don’t know about my sister but..I-I’m sure it’ll be fine!” Shoyo smiled wide at the other boy, noticing how hurried and excited his response was. He was never good at toning himself down when he got excited.

“oh. O-okay, thank you. Thank you s-shoyo, really.” Tobio never moved his gaze towards the other boy but his voice grew lighter as he showed his gratitude. It really seems like this dog is a burden for him, Shoyo thought.

“Yeah, no problem! Just…follow my car, I’m not too far from the Parlor. Will that work?”

“s-sure. Yeah. T-thanks.” Tobio did a 180 and followed Shoyo’s car out of the parking lot. Hinata taps on his radio and reverses out of the lot. He turns his head at the lot’s exit, checking to see if Kageyama’s behind him, and locks eyes with the boy for a second before quickly turning forward and racing home.

Kageyama parks his silver Subaru behind Shoyo’s red Honda and noticed another black car parked inside the closed garage. Hinata's house’s lights weren’t on save for one in the front, probably his mother waiting up. Shoyo and Kageyama stop at his front door, Focus sitting by Shoyo’s side.

Hinata leans towards the other boy and whispers. “Okay, so, um, my sister is really crazy. Like, really crazy, no matter what time or where. She might flip out when she sees you, pull your hair, want to paint your nails, et cetera. I’m just prepping you for that.” Hinata expected an anxious frown and furrowed brow from Tobio. Tobio, instead, to his surprise, gave him a casual shrug. Hinata…wasn’t sure how to take that. He creaks the door open slowly, not wanting to wake up Mom.

“SHOOOOYOOOO! SHOYO WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?! SHOYO’S HOME, SHOYO’S HO-WHO’S THIS?! AAAH AND A DOG!” Natsu, not having considered sleeping before Shoyo returned, races down the hall in her onesie shrieking happily. It seemed like he was the only one worried about not waking up his mother.

Shoyo bends down and shoves his index finger towards Natsu’s little mouth. “Natsu, keep it down! Mom’s sleeping! This—this is my friend, I’m helping him take care of our boss’s dog.” He motions to Tobio, who had bent down to his knees right near Natsu.

“Hi! What’s your name? I’m Tobio!” Kageyama put his hand out and grinned a wide, bubbly grin. He'd squatted right by Natsu and spoke with a silly, high cadence.

Shoyo was..dumbfounded. He was watching Kageyama Tobio, the Kageyama Tobio, smile like an idiot and hold out his hand to Natsu.

Natsu smiled widely. “Natsu! My name’s Natsu! Hi Tobio!” She grabs Tobio’s palm with both hands and shakes it forcefully, swinging her arms up and down like Tobio’s hand was a beach towel.

“NATSU! Natsu, that’s a pretty name!”

Natsu positively beamed, excited to meet her new friend Tobio.

_He’s…he’s being…silly. Kageyama Tobio is being silly!_ Shoyo’s jaw, sufficiently dropped, only moves again when he notices Focus already lying down at the foot of his stairs.

“C’mon, Natsu, me and Tobio need to take care of the doggy. And you are way past your bedtime! Let’s go upstairs to bed.”

“NO! Shoyooo! You bring your friend and a new dog and I wanna help! I WANNA HELP! SHOYO—“

“OK, NATSU! I POSITIVELY NEED YOUR HELP.” Hinata went jokingly serious, furrowing his brow harshly and widening his eyes.

“YAAAY! NATSU! HELPS! SHOYO!” She dances in her spot, spinning and repeating the three-word refrain.

Shoyo grips her shoulder lightly, stopping her dance. “NATSU! Here’s your mission: can you go upstairs and grab eight hours of sleep for us?"

Natsu gave her older brother a confused look before understanding his remark. She pouts and looks down, almost about to cry, wanting nothing more in the world than to play with her new friend and his doggy. Shoyo started upstairs and called for Focus, who slowly plods his way to the second floor.

Tobio inches closer to Natsu and put his hand on her shoulder. “Natsu, can we play tomorrow? You, me, and Focus. Does that sound okay?” Tobio smiles genuinely and Natsu lifts her head. She gave him a little grin and suddenly sprang forward towards his chest, wrapping her arms across his shoulders. Tobio returns her hug with a light pat to the back. He took that as a yes.

She challenges her new friend immediately to a race up the stairs and, finally, made it into bed. While her energy was practically infinite when the boys came in, she falls asleep within minutes of climbing under her sheets.

Tobio, looking around the hall upstairs for Shoyo, sees a lit room with the door closed. He knocks and hears a faint splashing sound, followed by a quiet “come in!” from Hinata.

Shoyo was running the bath for Focus. He’d pulled the sleeves of his green sweatshirt up to his elbows and he squatted by the edge of the tub, tending to the boss’s tired, dirty beagle. Tobio squats beside him and pulls his gray sweatshirt sleeves up as well. Shoyo turned his head subtly, acknowledging Tobio’s entrance and shuffling to his right to give the boy more room.

“H-hey, so…how did you do that? I can barely get her to sleep within an hour of coming home, I mean…I just didn’t expect, like…”

“…me to be good with children?” Kageyama interrupts, smirking slightly. Shoyo blushes a little at how well Tobio read his mind.

"I wouldn’t think it either. I never…seem like the child type. I always have to deal with my little brother, though, so it’s s-sort of natural to me.” Tobio starts cleaning around Focus’s face, doing anything to seem useful in this situation. He’d felt bad keeping Shoyo up for this favor, even if he seems inclined to help.

“I-I mean, I have a little sister, but…you really seemed to get her personality instantly! You actually seemed happy for once when you talked to her, too!”

Tobio turns his head and glowers at Shoyo. Shoyo giggled to himself, starting to feel a bit more comfortable.

“Shutup. I can be nice. Especially to kids, I think. I just really understand and get along with active, energetic personalities. Plus, kids need someone that's nice and cheery to them. I mean, in the case of my little brother—uh…mm...“ Tobio cuts himself off suddenly.

“Um…so..” He gulps and looks around, panicked, trying to find another conversation topic floating somewhere in the air.

“W-what soap should we use to clean this dog?”

…Shoyo pauses for a beat, trying to compute the awkward shift in topic. “Uh, um, l-let’s just use mine, that should work.” Hinata focuses his attention back solely to cleaning Focus. He wasn’t sure what had happened and if he should ask about…whatever that was. Tobio hides an embarrassed scowl plastered across his face.

They continue washing Focus and start soaping him up with Shoyo’s shampoo, which Tobio recognizes immediately. He'd never realized what he’d associated with the other boy, but after smelling his dark yellow cinnamon honey shampoo, he couldn’t stop remembering the aroma. It was lingering on his mind and reminded him of moments on shift…moments where he’d check stock or clean a counter and that faint smell of cinnamon honey wafted towards his nose and reminded him of… _something_.

He finally knew, now, what that frustrating something was.

Much to his frustration, he feels his cheeks grow warm at the thought of Shoyo’s smell.

“Well, Focus, let’s get you dry!” Shoyo groans, lifting Focus out of the tub, to which Focus shakes all the water on him across the whole room and onto the two boys. They finish drying the beagle and head downstairs, back to the front door.

“Well, um…thank you. Really, I hope I didn’t cause any issue. T-thank you for helping me with this.” Kageyama finishes by lifting his head, trying for eye contact, but quickly looks to his left as he noticed Shoyo staring back and beaming.

“N-no problem! I had a lot of fun...it wasn’t a problem at all! Really, n-no problem.” Stop saying no problem, Shoyo. You’re getting excited again!

Tobio blushes lightly at the other boy, always noticing whenever Shoyo gets too excited and repeats himself. Tobio noticed it was a quirk of the other boy that was…annoying. _Not cute. Annoying._

Tobio motions for the door. “A-actually…um…” Shoyo looked downward, searching for words.

“If it’s too…late…y-you could sleepover, if you want? I-I mean if you don’t want to, it’s-it’s totally fine. I get it! I just, it’s really late…and your parents! They’d probably hate seeing Focus this late, and..” Shoyo quiets, half expecting Kageyama to have left already.

“Sure. You don’t mind?” Tobio bends down and picks up Focus in his arms. “And you have a spot for Focus?”

Shoyo was dumbfounded once again. He lifts his head and noticed Kageyama, still there, just about to’ve left. Not only did he accept the offer, he didn’t even question it!  “Y-yeah! My room’s big enough—er, it’s not h-huge, but, like, it’ll work—and, um, we have pillows, so—I mean obviously we have pillows, like duh, we are a house and we have pillows, but…um..” Hinata tripped over his words for at least another minute.

Kageyama stared, straight-faced, waiting for Shoyo to take a breath.

Shoyo sighs and ambles back upstairs, Tobio in tow with Focus still heavy in his arms. They walk across the white carpeted floor of the second story hallway, Tobio echoing Shoyo’s yawn from behind him.

They step into Shoyo’s room, Shoyo anxiously introducing the place by giving the other boy a quick tour of what’s there. Tobio found the whole thing…cute. Annoying too, sure, he wasn’t letting him just sleep already, but…cute.

Shoyo leaves to go find blankets and pillows. Kageyama further observes the other boy’s bedroom, noticing posters of famous athletes and bands pressed haphazardly over every wall. His walls were completely bombarded with posters, most overlapping one another, while his desk was crowded with picture frames and printed photos. Tobio steps towards Shoyo’s desk and notices scattered papers and pencils, one paper bearing a drawing of…the Ice Cream Parlor.

It isn’t very accurate, he thinks. His perspective’s off, his details are crowded and busy…

He steps away from the drawing suddenly feeling a pit form in his gut. Even thinking of criticism for another makes Tobio shameful, like he's becoming the very thing—the distant, terrifying thing—that made him quit art in the first place all those years ago.

“Ah, here! I’ve got three comforters and six pillows. Is that okay? I don’t know how many more we have, sorry!” Hinata calls to Kageyama, his words muffled by the gargantuan mound of sheets between his face and his outstretched hands.

Tobio turns and notices the sheet monster coming towards him, changing his mood instantly and giving him a blushed smirk. “heh, it-it’s fine. This’ll be okay. Thank you.” He grabs the sheets and arranges them to his liking on the floor beside Shoyo’s mattress, offering a little makeshift bed for Focus. Focus tiptoes his way to his cove of fabric and falls asleep instantly.

Within minutes, both boys were lying down and staring at the dark of the ceiling above them, ready to finish their day. It was just about 2 A.M. Shoyo’s legs were sore and stretched out beneath his sheets, still recovering from his arduous three to close shift.

Tobio listened to the quiet stir of his room and the world. While he hears the faint buzz of the crickets outside, his attention’s  focused on the subtle inhale and exhale from the mattress next to him. He hears Shoyo’s breathy sighs as he sinks further into drowsiness, his pillows moving sporadically against him as he shuffles into his sleeping position. Kageyama usually has no issue finding a still position to sleep in, but, being in Shoyo’s room, he focused on the other boy and his atmosphere. He starts thinking about his conversations with the boy that day, their argument in the Parlor about childhood cartoons, their ability to work together as a team when big rushes came in…

He thought about how embarrassing his shift in topic had been during Focus’s bath. The dark haired boy wondered if he should’ve continued, poured his soul out to Shoyo, told him all about his little brother and his parents and why Kageyama didn’t need to call anyone or let anyone know anything about staying over.

He wondered if his parents were even home yet. Or if they would show up tonight at all.

A slight buzz interrupted his thoughts.

** iMessage: **

** Hinata Shoyo **

_ I can’t sleep! OwO _

** Kageyama Tobio **

_ Are you texting me from literally 3 feet away? _

** Hinata Shoyo **

_ Yes what about it?? _

_ As I said I CANT SLEEP TOBIO :U _

** Kageyama Tobio **

_Idiot. I’m trying to._

**Hinata Shoyo**

_ Well me too! and...I…CAN’T! D: _

** Kageyama Tobio **

_ fix it _

** Hinata Shoyo **

_ OH! Thank you Bakayama, that’s just what I needed! I should’ve tried just fixing it! :V _

** Kageyama Tobio **

_ -_- _

** Hinata Shoyo **

_ My emojis r cuter than ur emojis *n* _

_ >:C <\- das u _

** Kageyama Tobio **

_ This is stupid _

_.-. _

** Hinata Shoyo **

_ k that 1 is kinda cute _

** Kageyama Tobio **

_ 9-9 <\- me when you keep texting me when I'm trying to sleep. _

Tobio hears a light giggle in the bed next to him.

** Hinata Shoyo **

_ k fine _

_ gnight Tobio :> _

Tobio reads that text over again, feeling his cheeks warm up. He’d noticed that any time Shoyo had said goodnight.

** Kageyama Tobio **

_ Goodnight, Shoyo. _

_ :c _

 

Tobio tosses his phone to his side and sinks into his relatively comfortable sleeping arrangement. He wasn’t planning on any sort of sleepover but, he thought, he can’t think of another place he’d be.

 

He drifts off peacefully, the familiar scent of cinnamon honey lingering within his pillows.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a little longer with this chapter i'm sorrreeeeeee
> 
> Hope you like it
> 
> asanoyuhh.tumblr.com


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